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Kevin Mueller petitioning for Chase County Sheriff ballot

By Jan SchultzThe Imperial Republican Keith County Sheriff Kevin Mueller, 49, a former Imperial police officer and Chase County High School graduate, is gathering petition signatures to be placed on the ballot in November for Chase County Sheriff. If he is successful in gathering the required 369 signatures, he will go up against incumbent Chase County Sheriff Tim Sutherland, who advanced after May’s Primary as the only candidate for sheriff in the General Election. Sutherland advanced to November as the Republican candidate, defeating challenger Randy Jordan, who also filed Republican, by 70 votes (518-448). There were no Democratic candidates for Chase County Sheriff. Mueller is Republican, but if he gets the needed petition names, his name on the Chase County ballot will be followed with “by petition” rather than by his party affiliation. All county voters will have the chance to vote for Sheriff in the Nov. 2 General Election. In the Primary’s partisan races (candidates filing with party affiliation), which included the contest for sheriff, voters only received ballots for candidates in the party in which they were registered. So in Chase County, voters registered as Democrats had no Primary Election ballot for sheriff. County Clerk/Election Commissioner Debra Clark said the required 369 valid signatures needed by Mueller represents 20% of the Chase County voters who cast ballots for President in the preceding election. He must submit the petitions by Sept. 1, she said. At the time he files the petitions, he must then pay a filing fee of $470.40. Then, the process of verifying that the signatures are registered Chase County voters will begin, she said.

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